I started a blog post on this way back last mid December as i was feeling very ill and to be honest I was scared that there was something seriously wrong with me.
Last time I wrote:-
"A little while ago I wrote about feeling so tired and ill yet well medicated on Erfa and supporting my adrenals with CT3M and taking optimal dosing of Vit D3. i was worried about having an autoimmune condition of my liver....so many of you wrote lovely supportive feedback and some of you asked me to keep you all up to speed. This is my little effort at doing so and thank you for caring so much.
I felt really ill over Christmas and I couldn't eat much as it caused indigestion, diarrhea and a burning pain in my right side -so I lost half a stone in a couple of weeks. I slept for England! " The upshot of all the medical investigations was 'fatty infiltration (of my liver) with fatty nodules causing high liver enzymes -which is obviously not good but luckily totally resolvable. my GP told me to loose the extra weight and to exercise.
I thought I would let you now how i am now getting on -as I really appreciated all the support you all offered me. A big big thank you for your words of encouragement
I am really pleased to report that I feel well
Since seeing my doctor for the results at the beginning January i have completely re-looked at my diet. i took all processed food out apart from my instant porridge in the mornings. i took all grains out of my diet apart from porridge first thing. All foods with added sugars and sweeteners (except for Stevia) were also cut out. I hardly drink so i knew that alcohol was not the problem. I also put in place a minimum of 10,000 daily steps ( about 5 miles) using a reliable pedometer which i have diligently followed. Where I live there are plenty of steep hills ( can't be avoided) so this gave me an inbuilt good level of cardio. i walked everyday in all the snow and walk out in rain fog or whatever. I love the walking -i walk after work and it completely de-stresses and relaxes me and i arrive back home glowing and ready to cook my dinner. Adding in the 1000mcg of B12 seems to have made a difference to my uptake of thyroid hormones as my skin is softer and i am able to sustain regular exercise now which was never possible before.
I have now lost 30lbs in just 2 1/2 months and 8inches of my waist! I am planning to loose a further 2 stone to get back down to my original weight before all the CFS/ME and Hypothyroidism saga kicked in. I believe the cause of all my weight gain was essentially eating grains and added sugar. I notice that if i eat more than my breakfast grains I ALWAYS put on weight -even if moderate like breadcrumbs sprinkled on baked white fish which caused a weight increase of 1/2lb when i weighed in the next day. It seems very clear to me now that in future not only must I carry on avoiding added sugar ( as Dr Peatfield says in his book) but also I need to keep my grain intake very low. I have not felt any hunger whilst on the new food regime and that also tells me that it is right for me as it is sustainable. I am sure it will only require a few tiny tweaks to turn it from a weight loss food intake to one of maintenance -all things being equal with my endocrine hormones! The food regime makes it pretty easy to eat out too...though Italian and Indian restaurants are very tricky!!
I feel so well that all my friends and colleagues keep commenting on how well I look. I have loads more energy. Instead of cutting my work hours I have decided to carry on working full time but i will not be working every workday evening anymore -walking and a home cooked dinner come first.
I count my blessings everyday. I feel very very lucky that I have been able to turn this around so easily. i am optimistic now that I can get my weight back into the normal range for my height -which is in fact only a stone off to reach that mark now. My weight loss has slowed down now but I don't care if it takes me to the end of the current year to loose it.
I wanted to write this further update -as i hope that other people who are finding it hard to control their weight but are well medicated with appropriate thyroid/adrenal/vitamin treatment might find what i have done a useful reference for them. Of course it is too early to say whether my health will remain stable -after over 10years of ill health with CFS/ME, then hypothyroidism I know better than to assume that I have sorted it. however i have every intention of enjoying the new found freedom from feeling well...it just feels wonderful....even if it turns out to be temporary. i had completely forgotten what it is like! i cannot believe how lucky i am... My GP wants to see me again in a few months and I hope that when I go back he will give me the all clear -that my high levels of liver enzymes will have returned to normal levels and my liver will no longer be fatty.
Thank you to EVERYONE who replied to me with empathy, encouragement and support. It made such a difference to know that you are all there. This site is full of really lovely kind and informative people -Many many thanks.
I am off out now for my daily constitutional walk
Hugs
xx
Written by
waveylines
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Thanks Shaws -I feel blessed. i hope it continues! i have always appreciated all the very good info that you put on hear about a wide range of topics -thank you. x
Hi Wavy, I was looking back at my first questions/blogs from 2010 yesterday to remind myself how I felt then (I couldn't remember!) & you were one of the lovely people who responded with encouragement - so I was wondering how you were and so glad to hear you're feeling better!
I was also looking at Dr Davis's 'Wheat belly' video (for hubby) and so many things rang true. We don't have bread, cakes, biscuits, cereals in the house anymore as we're just not interested! (but it's tricky tonight as babysitting & kids do love biccies - guess they'll just have to like eggs for breakfast!). So much happens in the liver, we need to look after it! and now the days are getting longer I really don't have any excuse for not walking from work either! thanks for the encouraging post and hope you continue to feel good! ((hugs)) Jane
Thanks Jane -for me it is working and i did read the Wheat Belly book -when I also read Cabots book Fatty Liver and it said that the liver when fatty struggles to process grains....I sort of felt lfe was telling me something...
Oh dear ! here I am shovelling down all the grains & pulses I can manage, to help lessen my cholesterol....no wonder Im gaining & not loosing weight......trying to help one problem but creating another....any advice please Im 75.
I haven't cut out all the grains -still have my breakfast dose. I fond my cholesterol lowered when i had optimised my thyroid treatment -and supported it with all the vits and minerals. Do you feel that you have done that?
Im afraid I have rather overdosed with nuts,&all sorts of beans every day,kinda made me a bit unsociable....I don't need to say why....so sticking to porridge in future , plus all advised vits for may age, I literaly became an "old windbag"
I too have followed a no grain diet for a while and felt much better. I have fallen off the wagon lately after a nasty case of pneumonia but intend to sort that out now. It is brilliant that you have found this works for you. You have now given me the encouragement to give it another try. Well done you and I hope it long continues.
Thanks freeloid. Am glad it has inspired you back onto the wagon -so to speak I measured my waist today (this being the most important thing of all due to my fatty liver) and i was amazed to see that another inch had dropped of my waist. I remain incredulous that such a simple amendment to my diet could have such amazing results. i am so used to struggling with my weight these days that it all seem too easy this way I hope it continues! x
Impressed wavylines and you must be so relieved that there were no more autoimmune nasties. What could be better going into summer with health/energy and a waist again!
Am interested in your reliable pedometer. If it is very simple to use I would love to try one again. The two I tried, even youngsters lost patience with them, went in the bin. Looking for simple and inexpensive? Could you drop me a hint?
I am finding i am having to exercise more now to get any more weight loss....lol. My son tells me it is because i am fitter and lighter so i need to increase the intensity. I have never been very sporty to be honest but am finding that if i wish to keep the weight off or reduce it any further i am going to have to maintain a high level of activity. There will be no slacking! Thinking about adding swimming and a dance DVD....already Nordic walking three times per week. On Mothering Sunday I allowed myself 2 small dark coated biscuits (I know I shouldn't have done) and the next day i had put on a pound and half!! i was shocked! So far i have lost half a pound of it...lol....A little reminder that the weight can very easily go back on unless I am very very careful.
My pedometer is an Omron Walker. It is very reliable and they are not too expensive... but you are looking at about £12-£20 depending whch odel you are happy with. Worth it -it definitely won't cheat on you -will tell you your steps, the number of them that is cardio, how far you have walked and the calories you have burned -am afraid I don't take any notice re the calories as I don't think I burn off in the 'normal' way....
Great to hear a positive story - well done! I do wonder that the B12 has perhaps been a bigger factor in your health in addition to the reduction in grains and walking?
I have been following a similar schedule to you, but don't walk as regularly yet! I do have a silly question for you and anyone else out there though. How do you make sauces, gravies, thicken casseroles etc. without flour/cornflour? I say silly, because I'm sure there's a simple answer which I've missed! Thank you all in advance.
Thanks. I agree about the b12 -it has been very important as since taking it I can now sustain activity which I couldn't before. I am lucky in that the sublingual method works well for me -thank goodness.
Re thickening sauces etc... -this is tricky really -I haven't really bothered to be honest -but i guess you could try cooking some lentils (or a can of cooked lentils) and liquidising them and then adding them to your sauce -I would have thought that would thicken it up -though am sure the texture might not be as smooth as cornflour. Just a thought...
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